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The 10 commandments for staying friends with an ex

So, you’ve decided to not pay any heed to friends or family and stay friends with your ex. Well, may the odds be in your favour since this is a bumpy road to take. But if you’ve made up your mind, here are some ground rules to pay attention to before you enter such a situation.

Commandment 1: You will give yourself time to move on from the relationship before you attempt a friendship. No friendship will be successful if you’re still harbouring hopes of this going another way. How long do you wait? As long as it takes for you to not feel a pang of pain each time you see him.

Commandment 2: When you do attempt a friendship, you will never hang out alone. Not in the beginning at least. It just blurs the relationship status.

Commandment 3: Neither of you will spend too long dwelling on past memories or the good times you had. Focus on making some new memories as friends instead.

Commandment 4: Flirting is strictly off limits.

Commandment 5: If either of you starts dating someone new, the other will not judge or poke their nose in the new relationship. Don’t like the new girl? Keep it to yourself.

Commandment 6: You will not bring up issues you had with him. What was in the past, stays in the past. It doesn’t need to be revisited again and again.

Commandment 7: You will not drunk text him under any circumstances. Everyone knows what comes after a night of drunk texting.

Commandment 8: If you start dating someone new, you will not go to him for a “guy’s opinion” on things. It might be too soon to rub the new relationship in his face.

Commandment 9: He might have been your go-to man whenever you felt down in the dumps or needed a shoulder to cry on, but you can’t be emotionally dependent on him once you choose to be friends. Keep things light.

Commandment 10: Be honest with yourself. If you find yourself catching feelings again, put a halt on the friendship and get some distance.